Trekking down to Latitude’s Lake Stage, I hear that the hotly-tipped Joe Lean And The Jing Jang Jong are the new Television. The bad news is they’re not the new Television, but they are a pretty good Strokes.
Lean by name, lean by nature, whip-thin weasel Joe – former Pipettes drummer (wait, come back!) and occasional Peep Show guest star – does his best impersonation of a hip-swivelling, finger-clicking dance machine, while his band, unruly Yardbirds lookalikes, rip out cut glass guitar lines over manic drumming.
They might pinch from the New Yorkers, but The Jing Jang Jong are edgier, sabotaging their sing-along melodies with a few cacophonous string-bending sections on ‘Lonely Boy’, and exploring rock’n’doowop on ‘Brooklyn’.
They might not be the groundbreaking troupe of envelope pushers I’d hoped, but Joe Lean And The Jing Jang Jong are tighter on their 15th gig than most bands are on their 500th. If you want a party band peddling stylish tales of heartbreak streets ahead of The Pigeon Detectives and their ilk, check them out.
Words: Tom Pinnock